Jennie Geisler: Grilling is a labor of summer

Jennie Geisler More Content Now

Wednesday

Aug 29, 2018 at 10:07 AMAug 29, 2018 at 10:07 AM

As much as I love harvest season and baking and light summer fare, sometimes my carnivorous appetite rises from slumber and sends me marching over to my favorite Jamie Purviance/Weber cookbooks and www.weber.com. Purviance has never steered me wrong.

We’re coming up on Labor Day, here, and I thought some of you might want to open up the grill to celebrate the three-day weekend. (By the way, I refuse to suggest it’s the cliched "end of summer." It isn’t. After this Labor Day, there are two weeks and five days left of summer and I refuse to give up one second of it.)

My first salvo against the encroaching autumn comes in the form of marinated flank steak sandwiches, smokey wings and grilled fish tacos, all of which hit their targets, and, I suppose, could serve as tailgate fare for anyone who’s into that. I hate football, but I love making a bunch of food and having my family together in the living room happily munching and cheering. So I just ignore the TV and sit in my favorite chair and eat. Usually, when the Cleveland Browns start losing, they turn on baseball, so that’s awesome.

Five things I learned:

1. Drying out the wings before cooking them makes them taste better. Who knew? Well, everyone but me, I guess. This is so they can be crispy and absorb the sauce when they’re done. This recipe has them rubbed and drying in the refrigerator for four hours before cooking, so don’t plan on putting them together in a flash. Also, make sure you have a place in your fridge to slide them onto once you have them ready to go.

2. If your wings start out frozen, try to knock the ice crystals off into the sink or garbage before thawing, to minimize the amount of raw chicken juice sloshing around the kitchen. And have a lot of paper towels on hand to pat them dry after thawing. Thawed wings give up what to me seems an incredible amount of water during this period, hence the four-hour drying time. Once they’re good and dried out and you start to cook them, they’ll readily absorb the sauce and smoky flavor of the grill fire. If they aren’t dry, the sauce will slide right off.

3. Fish tacos are usually made with fried fish, but these grilled ones are a luscious substitute due to the rub and the slaw. If you can find halibut, I suggest using it, though carefully, on the grill. I went with salmon because that’s what the store had. You could use frozen fish; just thaw it according to package directions (in the fridge or under cold running water).

The salmon was delicious, of course, but white fish is the usual suspect for fish tacos. Just get some combination of fish and grilling equipment that keeps the flesh from falling into the flames.

4. The accompanying paleo slaw recipe I chose for my husband, but you can use the Weber recipe or any slaw you want. Just don’t skip it. Its cool crunchy bite mixed with the spice of the rub makes the fish positively addictive. And messy. It makes the tacos very, very messy. I have a friend who, when eating tacos, keeps an empty shell on his plate to catch all the filling that falls out of his other tacos while he’s eating them, which leaves him with one last taco. I don’t remember what he does with the filling that falls out of that taco. Maybe then he uses a fork.

5. I was joking around about how to finish this column and saying "Worcestershire" because I think it’s an inherently funny word, when my editor said she can’t say that word. We all started saying it and it got kind of out of hand, and it occurred to me that, while I might have, sometime in the past 15 years, covered this, clearly some of us need a refresher.

What confirmed this suspicion was that when I went to use Google to ask "how do you say Wo" the first thing that popped up was a www.youtube.com video on just this subject. If the pronunciation (and reason for all the letters) of "Worcestershire" is something that interests you, you should watch the video at https://bit.ly/2rWkBdM. If you’re more of an ink-and-pulp reader, I’ll blow the ending and just tell you: Dump most of the letters. All you need to pronounce is "WUHS-teh-sure," emphasis on the WUHS.

Finally, remember while you grill, the reason we have weekends and paid holidays and health insurance and eight-hour workdays and a minimum wage is because union members fought for them. Enjoy.

Grilled Fish Tacos Rub

½ teaspoon pure chile powder

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 halibut or salmon fillets or 2 of each (with skin), each about 6 ounces and 1 to 1½ inches thick

Vegetable oil

Slaw

3 cups thinly sliced green cabbage

¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

¼ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

½ teaspoon kosher salt

6 (10-inch) flour tortillas

In a small bowl mix the rub ingredients. Lightly brush the fillets with oil and then apply the rub evenly. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator

In a large bowl combine the slaw ingredients and toss to coat. Set aside until ready to assemble the wraps.

Prepare the grill for direct cooking over high heat (450 F to 550 F).

Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the fillets over direct high heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until you can lift them with a spatula off the cooking grate without sticking, about 4 minutes. Turn the fillets over and cook them until they are opaque in the center, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Warm the tortillas over direct high heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute, turning once.

To assemble the wraps, break a fillet into large chunks and arrange on one half of a warm tortilla, then top with some of the slaw. Roll the tortilla to enclose the fillings, fold in the sides, and continue rolling to the end. Cut the wrap in half. Serve warm or at room temperature.

— www.weber.com

Simple Homemade Paleo Coleslaw

½ head green cabbage

½ head purple cabbage

2 cups shredded carrots

¼ cup white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)

½ tsp sea salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp dry mustard

½ tsp celery seed

½ tsp garlic powder

½ cup homemade paleo mayonnaise

Dice or shred both half heads of cabbage.

Place into a large bowl with shredded carrots, mix well.

Add in vinegar and mayonnaise, mix well.

Add in all seasonings (adding more or less to taste), and mix until cabbage and carrot mixture is fully coated.

Serve and enjoy! Covering and placing in the fridge for about an hour before serving will allow the flavors to fully mature.

— https://paleogrubs.com

Balsamic-Marinated Flank Steak Sandwiches with Peppers and Onions

½ cup balsamic vinegar

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

4 garlic cloves, minced or pushed through a press

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 flank steak, about 1½ pounds and ¾ inch thick

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 bell peppers, any color, cut into thin strips

1 large yellow onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 ciabatta or other soft sandwich rolls, split

4 teaspoons Dijon mustard

In a large, resealable plastic bag combine the marinade ingredients. Place the steak in the bag (cut the steak crosswise in half, if needed, to fit in the bag), press the air out of the bag, and seal tightly. Turn the bag to distribute the marinade, place in a bowl, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm 2 tablespoons oil. Add the bell peppers, onion, salt, and pepper and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the vegetables are very tender and caramelized, 8 to 10 minutes more, stirring often. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

Remove the steak from the bag and discard the marinade. Grill the steak over direct medium heat, with the lid closed, until cooked to your desired doneness, 8 to 12 minutes for medium-rare, turning once. During the last 30 seconds to 1 minute of grilling time, toast the rolls, cut side down, over direct heat. Remove from the grill and let the steak rest for 3 to 5 minutes. Cut the steak across the grain into thin slices.

Pile a few slices of steak and vegetables on a roll and add Dijon, if desired.

— Jamie Purviance, www.weber.com

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wings with Sriracha, Honey and Lime Rub

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

12 large chicken wings, each about 6 ounces, wing tips removed

Sauce

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons hot chili-garlic sauce, such as Sriracha

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

In a small bowl combine the rub ingredients. Pat the wings dry, and then place them in one layer on a sheet pan. Sprinkle with the rub, working it in on both sides with your fingers. Refrigerate the wings, uncovered, to air dry for about 4 hours.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sauce ingredients. Stir until the butter melts, and then remove from the heat.

Prepare the grill for direct and indirect cooking over medium heat (350 F to 450 F).

Grill the wings over direct medium heat, with the lid closed, until browned on both sides, 10 to 15 minutes, turning once or twice. Then move the wings over indirect medium heat and cook, with the lid closed, until the meat is no longer pink at the bone and the skin is crispy, 15 to 20 minutes more, turning once or twice and basting frequently with the sauce. Remove from the grill and brush with any remaining sauce. Serve warm or at room temperature.